Bayer To Expand Aspirin Production

German chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer is to increase sales of aspirin to over 1 billion Deutschemarks ($683.5 million) by the year 2000.

Werner Spinner, head of the consumer care sector, said that aspirin would generate sales of 750 million marks - 200 million marks in Germany alone.

Bayer's aspirin sales have risen 15% in each of the last five years and expansion at the firm's self-medication plant at Bitterfeld will boost annual output of self-medication products to 3.5 billion tablets - with increased volume of aspirin together with Alka-Seltzer tablets and the antacid Talcid.